Dissociative photoionization of quinoline and isoquinoline

Two nitrogen-containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon isomers of C9H7N composition, quinoline, and isoquinoline have been studied by imaging photoelectron photoion coincidence spectroscopy at the VUV beamline of the Swiss Light Source. High resolution threshold photoelectron spectra have been recorded and are interpreted applying a Franck-Condon model. Dissociative ionization mass spectra as a function of the parent ion internal energy are analyzed with the use of breakdown diagrams. HCN loss and H loss are the dominant dissociation paths for both C9H7N(•+) isomers at photon energies below 15.5 eV. Computed C9H7N(•+) potential energy surfaces suggest that the lowest energy path leading to HCN-loss yields the benzocyclobutadiene cation. A statistical model is used to fit the breakdown diagram and-to account for the kinetic shift-the time-of-flight mass spectra that reveal the dissociation rates. We have derived appearance energies of 11.9 ± 0.1 (HCN loss) and 12.0 ± 0.1 (H loss), as well as 11.6 ± 0.2 (HCN loss) and 12.1 ± 0.2 (H loss) eV, for the dissociative ionization of quinoline and isoquinoline, respectively. The results are compared to a recent study on the dissociative ionization of naphthalene. Implications for the formation and destruction of nitrogenated PAHs in the interstellar medium and in Titan's atmosphere are highlighted.